---
title: Patron Prospects & Funding
tags: fundraising
robots: noindex, nofollow
---
# Grant Prospects & Funding

## Bitcoin Grants

| Who | Grant | Dates | Amount | Link | Topic |
|-----|-------|-------|--------|------|-------|
| Bitmex | | Not Open | Ongoing | [link](https://blog.bitmex.com/grants/) | monthly sponsor? |
| Block | Discovery Grant | Ongoing | $20-50k | [link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6Hgjg4va4c7fA03zn3jSfDfEt0ZWrvTfTJAfET0WuBMlFSQ/viewform) | Financial Education |
| Brink* | [individuals] | Ongoing | Year-Long | [link](https://brink.dev/programs#grants) | Open Source Bitcoin |
| Gemini | Opportunity Fund | Ongoing | ? | [e-mail] | "scalable, secure, and sustainable"
| Geyser | | Occasional | $500-$1000 | [link](https://geyser.fund/grants/) |
| HRF* | Bitcoin Development Fund | Quarterly | $10-50k | [e-mail] |
| IPFS| [currently on hold] | | | [link](https://github.com/ipfs/devgrants) |
| Kraken | Bitcoin, Ethereum | Quarterly | $150k (divided) | [e-mail] |
| okcoin | Developer Grant | Ongoing | ? | [e-mail] | Accessibility |
| OpenSats* | | Ongoing | ? | [link](https://opensats.org/apply) | Apps, education |
| Spiral | Square Crypto Grant | Ongoing| "Largest Fund"| [link](https://spiral.xyz/blog/square-crypto-grants-for-everybody/) |
| Stacks | Critical Bounties | Updated Quarterly | |[link](https://stacks.org/grants)

* Additionally Funded by [Bitwise](https://bitwiseinvestments.com/newsroom/bitwise-to-donate-10-percent-of-profits-of-bitb#) as of Q1 2024.

## Other Blockchain Grants

* [Grants for Other Blockchains](https://findblockchaingrants.com/)
* [More Blockchain Grants](https://collectiveshift.io/funding/crypto-grants-programs-guide/)
* [And One More Listing](https://coinscreed.com/7-best-crypto-grants-you-should-know-about.html)

Of Note:

| Who | Link |
|-----|------|
| Ethereum | https://ethereum.org/en/community/grants/ |
| Zcash | https://zcashcommunitygrants.org/ |

## Government Grants

[Advice on Grant Writing](https://www.brandeismarshall.com/single-post/2014/06/08/scaffolding-the-grant-writing-process)

| Grant | Date | Amount | Link | Notes |
|-------|------|--------|------|-------|
| DHS _Overall_ | Varies | Varies | [link](https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/funding-innovation) |
| DHS: LRBAA | December 31 | ? | [link](https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/st-lrbaa) | Countering Identity Threats? Software and Hardware Supply Chain Assurance? |
| DHS: SBIR | Calls | ? | [link](https://oip.dhs.gov/sbir/public) |
| DHS: SVIP | Calls | ? | [link](https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/svip) | *good topics*
| NSF Seed Fund| Ongoing | $2M | [link](https://seedfund.nsf.gov/apply/get-started/) | [not just engineering! about producing stuff!] |

(including silicon?)

## More on NSF

* SBIR Grants: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/nsf-small-business-innovation-research-small-0/nsf23-515/solicitation
* Project Pitch: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/project-pitch/
* Advice: https://bbcetc.com/nsf-project-pitch/make-your-nsf-project-pitch-pitch-perfect/
* General Grant Advice: https://www.brandeismarshall.com/single-post/2014/06/08/scaffolding-the-grant-writing-process
* Full Proposal: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/apply/full-proposal/

* General Research.Gov Grants:
* Letter of Intent: https://www.research.gov/research-web/content/aboutpsm
* Proposals: https://www.research.gov/research-web/content/aboutpsm

### SAM.gov

Blockchain Commons is Entity HTELSTNTT361

### Research.gov

#### NSF Categories

_PDF Listing:_ https://seedfund.nsf.gov/assets/files/applicants/combined-topics.pdf
_Portfolio Page:_ https://seedfund.nsf.gov/portfolio/

[**Cybersecurity and Authentication (CA)**](https://seedfund.nsf.gov/topics/cybersecurity-authentication/)

* CA1. Computation on Encrypted Data
* CA2. Cryptography, including Post-quantum Cryptography
* CA3. Data Privacy and Integrity
* CA4. Device Authentication
* CA5. Encryption, including Homomorphic Encryption
* CA6. Network and Device Security
* CA7. Personal Authentication
* CA8. Secure and Trusted Computing
* CA9. Secure Machine-to-Machine Communication
* CA10. Security of Cloud and High Performance Computing (HPC) Platforms
* CA11. Other Cybersecurity and Authentication Technologies

[**Distributed Ledger (DL)**](https://seedfund.nsf.gov/topics/distributed-ledger/)

* DL1. Autonomous Systems and Economies, and Smart Contracts
* DL2. Blockchain, DAGs, and Next-Gen Protocols
* DL3. Convergence with Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence
* DL4. Convergence with Internet of Things, Crowdsourcing and Crowdsensing
* DL5. Cryptography, Security, and Cybersecurity
* DL6. Digital Assets
* DL7. Distributed Consensus and Fault Tolerance Mechanisms
* DL8. Distributed Ledger in Edge and Cloud Computing
* DL9. Distributed Ledger Interoperability
* DL10. Distributed Ledger in Network Architecture and Management
* DL11. Financial Technologies
* DL12. Human-to-Technology Interfaces and Decentralized Applications (dApps)
* DL13. Scalability Solutions and Accumulators
* DL14. Trusted Identity and Identity Management
* DL15. Other Distributed Ledger Technologies

**Other Topics (Maybe) of Interest:**

* Artificial Intelligence (AI)
* Cloud and High-Performance Computing (CH)
* Digital Health (DH)
* Human-Computer Interaction (HC)
* Internet of Things (I)
* Learning and Cognition Technologies (LC)
* Semiconductors (S)

## GitHub

Are there GitHub dev sites that do a great job of attracting patrons?

## Older Info & Notes
### Other funders
* https://www.ripe.net/publications/news/announcements/ripe-ncc-community-project-fund-2020-recipients-announced
* https://prototypefund.de/en/ [German only]

### Donation & Patron Pages (examples)

* https://tails.boum.org/donate/?r=contribute

### Vinay notes

https://bitcoinwords.github.io/grants/; https://blog.bitmex.com/grants/

US based bitcoin companies https://www.crunchbase.com/hub/bitcoin-companies

https://blog.bitmex.com/who-funds-bitcoin-development/

donations, partnerships and merchandise sales
Why don’t miners help pay for more open source development? Traders? What are the stakeholders providing funding?
Gitcoin is for ethereum

Is BC an umbrella organization for the funding of crypto development? Extract Bitmex
"biggest challenges going forwards are: Funding and training for new developers entering the space, More sustainable developer financing, including a large share of funding coming from retained earnings from businesses with different business models, and ensuring developers effectively collaborate while receiving independent funding sources."

How to better support the developer ecosystem
"So when it comes to doing the developer grants program if you aren’t a developer yourself, sometimes it can be difficult to know who, who’s good and who’s not is, you know, who’s a charlatan and who’s actually genuinely a good developer or doing some interesting and valuable projects and work in the space."

Digital democracy angle
Certifications to signal quality devs